MY LESSONS FROM PERSONAL FAILURE

I vividly recall this dark day, I was walking out of a serious grilling by a panel of top Kenyan researchers.

It was on 20th September 2018. The venue is National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NaCoSTI ), I was one of the 8 candidates in Kenya that were fortunate to have been shortlisted for the four Research Officer vacancies at the prestigious institution.

Long story short is that I failed the interview flat, I wasn't prepared at all for such an interview, with just my undergraduate degree I was competing with two guys with Master's degrees and one was even a PhD candidate!.

I have never been so blank in my life; we started off with a data analysis practical exam; I failed it flat; I didn't know/and still don't know how to use statistical software to view and manipulate data, in the oral phase of the interview I really tried but I knew my fate was already sealed and the goose was already cooked, no miracle by whichever deity could save me, it would even be unfair for me to pass the interview, It was apparent that I was unqualified for the role.

The NaCoSTI HR Officer was courteous enough to send me a beautiful regret letter in hard and soft copy a month later.

That interview taught me to be better prepared for interviews, accept defeats and setbacks like a man, and most of all read and understand the Job description in advertisements. It is apparent that I bit more than I could chew.

We win some; we lose some, that is life for you.

"The desire for a more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience."~Mark Manson, [The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life]

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